When Given A Second Chance
by Fierystreak
Summary: When Sakura wakes up from a nightmare of being killed by Sasuke she's back safely as a Genin about to enter the Chunin Exams. Now blessed with a second chance and a sense of familiarity, she has to do what she can to change her future. AU


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did it would be very different then how Kishimoto made it. For one thing, certain characters would get more attention.

Yes, I did say I'd be keeping my full attention on my other Naruto story 'A Masked Man's Games'. I have no intention of abandoning it and another update shall be along soon. I just thought it'd be better to work on another story or two in case I run into a writer's block for one story. That way, for the time being, I'd have one to work on while I try to break open that "block".

In truth, I have two other Naruto story ideas. I might work on the first chapter of those as well, but I'll see.

X X X X

"Kill her and I'll accept your offer."

Sakura couldn't stop the shock from showing on her face as the young man who was once her teammate, the guy she still loved pointed down at the red-haired women lying almost dead at the ground near his feet.

She looked into Sasuke's eyes. They were narrowed in a cold stare, the bottom eyelids seeping blood. She shivered and shifted her gaze to the women lying prone on the ground. Her eyes were half lidded, blood seeped from her mouth.

Sakura's facial expression grew determined as she slipped a kunai from her rainproof poncho and clutched it tightly. Trying to keep her voice steady she asked, "Who is she?"

"A member of my organization, 'Hawk'." Sasuke replied. His tone was casual. As if he wasn't talking about a half-dead girl near his feet. "As you can see, she's useless to me now." He paused, as if thinking. "Actually, you're a Medical Ninja, aren't you Sakura? This works out perfectly...you can take her place."

Sakura bit her bottom lip. He had grown heartless. He was no longer the old Sasuke she once knew. He had completely changed.

She took severval steps towards the other girl, perposely walking with slow steps. Now standing in front of the red-haired girl Sakura hesitated.

"Well? Can't you handle this, Sakura?"

_She doesn't matter..._ Sakura tried to tell herself, hardly hearing Sasuke's question. Or notice him starting to turn fully towards her. _If I...if I..._

_If...I can stab Sasuke right now, this will all end!_

Sakura's fist clenched at the kunai in her hand, teeth gritted and tears threatening to flow. She shut her eyes tightly as if to not think about what she was about to do.

"Sasuke...don't do it..."

The girl's voice was quiet and Sakura had barely heard it. Eyes wide, she turned her head quickly to look behind her. She had less then a second to think how stupid she had been before Sasuke's fingers, now crackling with the energy of Chidori, thrusted towards her skull.

_I will give you a second chance._

X X X X

Sakura quickly sat up, sobbing and breathing heavily in gasps. Her body heaved with each take of breath, unable to calm herself down. Her left hand clutched at her fast-beating heart. Eyes wide, she looked around.

She was in her room. Safe. A nightmare...it had been a nightmare. A horrible nightmare. But...it seemed so real. She had felt everything in a nightmare that you could not normally feel. Fear...pain...sadness...

Sakura crossed her arms, cluctching them just below the shoulder in a tighter grip as she tried to control her sobs. The nightmare had felt so real. She felt as if she really could hear and feel that lightning technique. Whatever that move was it was entirely unfamilar to her.

Unable to go back to sleep, Sakura slid out of bed and quietly padded her way out of her bedroom and towards the bathroom. It was almost time to get up soon anyway.

Entering the bathroom and heading for the sink, Sakura opened the cardboard above the sink and grabbed the toothpaste. After closing the cardboard door and snatching her toothbrush from the cup on one side of the sink Sakura gently applied a generious dollop of toothpaste on the brittles of her toothbrush.

While brushing her teeth Sakura's thoughts had gone back to her nightmare. She wasn't sure what scared her most. How real the nightmare was or how highly plausible it was that this Sasuke could one day end up like the one in her nightmare.

_No..._ She told herself. _Sasuke is now my teammate. He's not evil. He never will be. He won't tell me to kill another unless absolutely necessary._

Despite her words of self reassurance she wasn't convinced. Her thoughts went back to the what Sasuke had said when he introduced himself to the rest of Team Seven for the first time.

_"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are lots of things I dislike and I don't really like anything. And...I can't really call it a dream...but I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan and...to kill a certain man."_

Sakura hadn't thought anything of it at the time. She remembered thinking his words were cool, her cheeks tinged pink. Now her thoughts were different. Sasuke wanted to badly kill someone. It was his desire for personal achievement and it frightened Sakura.

That was back when they did Kakashi's bell test. They ended up failing badly. Sakura felt as if she had done worse then Naruto. All she did was scream, faint, call out Sasuke's name and fall for a Genjutsu trick Kakashi had put on her. They had managed to succeed on their second try. It made Sakura smile at the memory, because it was there first showing of teamship.

He wasn't that bad, was he? He did have hidden feelings of care for his team. He had proved it that, hadn't he? She couldn't think of any reason to consider him potentially evil.

Was that young man even Sasuke? Yes, it was. He has grown up so handsome. Yet, he's eyes were so cold. And that young girl. Who exactly was she? A member of Hawk? Who or what was Hawk?

What had happened to make Sasuke want to kill another person in such a cold-blooded way? Prehaps that girl wasn't innocent. No, even if she was a villian she was still helpless. To attempt to talk a life when your opponent is incapacitated is considered an act of viciousness.

Sakura had to wonder about herself as well. Why would she be so willing to go with Sasuke if he wasn't a good guy? Would she really kill that girl if Sasuke hadn't of tried to kill her? Suddenly it wasn't the idea of a possibly evil Sasuke that scared her. No, it was herself and her willingness to side with Sasuke in order to just be with him.

If that was the Sakura she'd grow up to be then she hated that version of herself.

Something started to nag at the back of Sakura's mind. When she died in her dreams, assuming she had died, she recalled a soft women's voice telling her she had been given a second chance. What did that mean? Why did she, once again assuming, deserve a second chance? Who was that women anyway?

Was that nightmare trying to warn her? Was she supposed to listen to it. Had she really been given another chance? If so then what was she supposed to do? Stop Sasuke from turning away from Konoha and into a life of villainy? Didn't that require a psychological view of things? Sakura wasn't a psychologist, so she couldn't help Sasuke if he was suffering from a mental illness.

Sakura frowned. Hadn't Sasuke's entire clan been masscred? There wasn't much detail, but the students had been explained in brief by Sasuke who had been asked by his classmates. Children could be so inconsiderate at times and Sakura could never forget how distant and blunt Sasuke had sounded when he briefly explained what had happened.

_"They're dead."_

That was all he had said. Sasuke was once such a lively and friendly kid and now...well, Sakura liked the arrogent and most silently cool version of Sasuke. Every girl in class did, except Hinata. Or maybe Hinata. The girl was so shy that Sakura wouldn't be surprised if she was to nervous to sneak glimpsis of the Uchiha genius. Not that Sakura could blame her. Sometimes she herself would blush when Sasuke caught her eye unintentionally.

Sakura stopped brushing and stared at herself in the mirror. With the white paste forming her mouth and her unbrushed hair she looked like a rabid poodle on drugs. Shaking her head, the girl took a cup of water and gargled.

She looked better, but her eyes were still red from crying. There wasn't much she could do about that, but she washed her face to freshen it up. A quick breakfast, a shower and a change of clothes and she'd be fine by the time she got to the place Kakashi had said to meet him.

X X X X

Sakura has arrived on the bridge on time. As had Sasuke and Naruto. Kakashi, unsurprisingly hadn't. That was almost an hour ago and she was starting to lose patience.

Growling, Sakura spun around to face Naruto and raised her fists. "Hey! How can this be allowed? Why does that person ask us to meet and then make us wait?"

"Yeah! Yeah! Sakura is right!"

Sakura ignored Naruto. _I overslept and didn't have time to blow dry my hair. _She frowned. _Wait...I didn't oversleep and I did blow dry my hair. I even had time for a full shower._

Yet Sakura still felt as if in a strange way she had those memories. She couldn't explain it, but she recalled having overslept at one point. Sakura never overslept and she always took care of her appearance. She had to look presentable in front of Sasuke.

"I overslept and didn't wash my face or brush my teeth!"

Sakura screwed up her nose at Naruto. "That's...nasty."

As Naruto laughed nervously a voice from above them greeted, "Morning people! Today, I got lost on the road of life."

Looking up Team Seven spotted their Jonin intructor perched on a large structure of some kind.

"Yeah right!" Naruto yelled, pointing up at Kakashi" Liar! Apologise!"

Normally Sakura would have yelled along with Naruto, but for some reason she felt as if it would be entirely out of her character.

"Well, anyway..." Kakashi continued as he jumped down. "This is sudden, but...I've nominated you guys for the Chunin selection Exam."

_Oh, the Chunin Exam. Isn't that exam dangerous? Wait. How do I know that?_

Naruto looked annoyed. "You think that makes up for...!"

Kakashi produced three slips of paper in front of them. "Here are your applications."

As Naruto gleefully thanked Kakashi Sakura stared down at her application. Her face showed no expression. Instead she just read it.

_Why does it feel as if I've been to the Chunin Exams before?_

"Though this is just a nomination. Whether to take the exam is up to each of you."

_I'm not ready. _Sakura knew that. She wasn't phycially or mentally ready. How could she be when she didn't even do anything on their previous mission.

"Those who wish to take it should sign those papers and turn them in at room 301 by 4PM tomorrow. That is all."

With that said, Kakashi Body Flickered away from the area. The guy never really just hung out with them. He'd give intructions and then just bugger off elsewhere.

As Naruto cheerfully talked about the Chunin Exam and how there were going to be strong guys, Sakura was deep in her thoughts.

_I can't even keep up with Sasuke and Naruto...and now the Chunin Exam. Why do I feel as if I've had this feeling of self doubt before? _Sakura felt like tearing out her hair. _This is so frustrating!_

She hadn't even realised that she had stopped walking and that her team were several metres in front of her. The boys didn't even noticed, so Sakura just continued to walk slowly behind them. Eventually the three seperated and Sakura headed home.

When she got home she pulled open the fridge and grabbed the orange juice to pour herself a glass. It was stifling hot today, so a cold drink was needed. Her parents would be up and about by now. Her mother would e most likely out shopping and her father was probably helping out with some building task or something. Both Sakura's parents were civilians and her dad liked to help out with this and that. Her mother, on the other hand, was a stay at home mum. She mostly did the cooking and the leaning, typical house mum stuff.

At first Sakura's parents had wanted their daughter to steer clear from shinobi business, but they allowed her to attend the acadamy and when she showed them her grades the gave up on trying to keep her home and instead encouraged her to study hard.

Now sitting at the kitchen table drinking a glass of cold orange juice, Sakura still felt incredibly gloomy. She didn't like to think she was weak, but she was. Compared to her teammates she had no show of strength. What use was she to them, anyway? She had cried like three times? All because she thought Sasuke had died and she felt useless for not being able to save him.

Now she was invited to attend an exam? Was Kakashi just playing some stupid joke on her? You can't enter the exam without your whole team. Talk about pressure. Stupid Kakashi. Now she was in a bad mood.

She was just feeling a little doubtful, that's all. She was probably nervous about the Chunin Exam. Yeah, that was most likely it. As for being familar with the exam she probably read about it a while ago.

No...didn't she have a fairly good memory?

"Ack!" With a groan, Sakura crossed her arms and the table and layed her head down. "What should I do? I'm not ready for the exam, but I don't want to disappoint my team."

She had until 4PM tomorrow to turn in her application. There was no helping it. She had to go. For her team.

X X X X

It was the next day. Sakura greeted Naruto's enthusiastic greeting to her with an embarassed "Yeah...good morning...". They were at the building of room 301 waiting to turn in their application.

There were quite a lot of other people there. Most of them just lazying around. Sakura could not see anyone she recognised. Somehow she ended up helping Naruto where to sign his name on the application slip. She didn't even chid him for not being able to read.

Unknown to her, Sasuke thought Sakura seemed to be acting weird.

They continued to walk down a hallway, having to amble along slowly due to the crowd of other participants in front of them. As they got closer Sakura and her team could hear some sort of commotion. However, they could not see what it was due to the small crowd in front of them.

"Please...let us through."

Sakura thought she recognised that voice. She stood up on her toes and craned her head up. Yes, she was sure she had seen that girl with the pink top and buns on her head somewhere. She was standing near a boy completely in green jumpsuit who was sitting on the floor. Sakura guessed the weird-looking boy with the bowl cut must have been hit 'cause his mouth was bleeding a bit. Another boy with long hair was nearby.

"Listen..." A boy with spikey dark hair and two large weapons on his backthat Sakura could not see due to the angle spoke. "this is our kindness."

"The Chunin Exam isn't easy...even we have failed it three straight times. Those that take this exam and end upquitting as shinobies, those that die during the exam, we've seen it all."

The boy had a rather smug look to him. One that was starting to annoy Sakura.

"And Chunins often become captains of military teams. The failure of a mission. The death of a comrade. That is all the captain's responsibility. Yet, kids like you think you can pass? We are just thinning out those that will fail anyway. What's wrong with that?"

There was something nagging at the back of Sakura's head. Such as where she had heard this speech before. Then there was something else. A sort of little feel of awareness. Looking up with a frown at the number 301 above the door.

There was something wrong about it.

She didn't even notice Sasuke take a step forward. "I agree, but... you will let me pass through... and also remove this surrounding reated with Genjutsu. I'm going to the third floor."

"What's that guy talking about?" Someone asked.

"I don't know..." Someone replied.

"Ah..." the spikey-haired boy said, grinning slightly. "So you noticed..."

Sasuke tilted his head slightly, smiling. It made Sakura swoon a little. "Sakura, you must have noticed first, right?"

Sakura was confused, but only for a brief moment. Now she knew what that 'wrong' feeling was.

With confidence she said, "This is the second floor."

"Yep!" Naruto said. As if he knew all along.

Everyone watched as 301 melted and shifted into 201.

"Hmm..not bad...but, all you did was.." without warning the boy with the two weaponson his back crouched down, hands on the floor and aimmed a kick at Sasuke's head. "see through it!"

Sasuke's right leg came up to the block the kick,but he found himself somehow blocked by someone's hand. He thought it might be the other guy's partner who hadn't said anything, but instead it was the kid in the green jumpsuit with the bowl-cut hairstyle.

Alarm bells ran in Sakura's head. _He's fast...he was able to see both kicks and slide himself in between. This is... He's completely different from the person that was getting knocked around earlier!_

Sakura watched Sasuke's facial expression. He was just as surprised as she was, if not more.

Sakura was correct in guessing the long-haired boy knew the weird-looking kid. "What happened to the plan? You're the one who said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves."

"Well..." The jumpsuit boy blushed, turning toward Sakura's direction.

The girl with the buns gave a little laugh, shaking her head. "Oh, no..."

As Sakura watched with nervousness the boy in the jumpsuit marched up to her. Was she in some kind of trouble? Was he annoyed she figured out the illusion trick?

"Hi... My name is Lee Rock. So, yours is Sakura... Let's go out together! I'll protect you 'til I die!"

The thumb's up, odd-looking wink and lame pick up line normally would have had Sakura tell this guy straight out 'no'. But there was something that made her hesitate.

Instead, she found herself declining with a polite, "I'm sorry...I'm interested in someone else."

"Ah, I see..." Sakura was glad the boy seemed to understand. "then prehaps we could just go out for a burger one day?"

That seemed harmless enough. Silently she nodded and received a greatful thumbs up. Nearby Naruto looked confused. He had expected Sakura to say 'no way!', so became a shock when she didn't.

Sasuke himself was confused. Was Sasuke maturing and slowly going out ofher fangirl habits? She hadn't even asked him out or bugged him even once today.

"Hey you..."

Sakura turned to see the long-haired guy step up to speak to Sasuke. The boy's eyes were slightly narrowed, as if studying the Uchiha.

"What's your name?"

"When you want to learn someone's name, you should gives yours first."

"You're a rookie, right? How old are you?"

"I don't have to answer to you." Sasuke scoffed. He walked off, leaving the boy with the long hair with no answer.

Thinking it was best they continued on Sakura grabbed her teammate's by the hand and pulled them along the corridor. Sasuke complained, but Naruto went along with it. Her blond teammate seemed depressed about something, but Sakura didn't care to find out.

They barely made it far when...

"Hey, guy with the dark eyes."

Looking up at the balcony they spotted the jumpsuit kid, Lee Rock, from earlier.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked calmly. Whatever it was it had to be done with quickly.

"Will you...fight me right here?"

A request for a fight was not what the Uchiha was expecting. "A fight right now?" Behind him Sakura looked slightly intense and Naruto had an expression of wonder.

With no hesitation as he stared down as he soon-to-be opponenet Lee replied, "Yes."

Without warning he leaped over the handheld of the stairs and landed in a crouch in front of Team Seven. Before any member of the team could speak the boy in green pointed a thumb at himself.

"My name is Lee Rock." As Team Seven stared silently Lee pointed a finger at them. "When you want to learn a person's name you introduce yourself, right?"

Sasuke had no idea why this weirdo wanted a fight, but he'd play along. For now. "Sasuke Uchiha. Heh, so you know?"

"I want to fight you." Taking some kind of fighting stance, Lee focused determind eyes on his opponent. "I want to test my techniques against the offspring of the genius ninja clan. Plus..."

He paused. Ignoring the Uchiha for the moment he focused his gaze on Sakura who returned the stare in confusion. As well as a little daunted. She did not like that look he was giving her.

He winked.

Sakura's reaction was to say, in the least, replused. She had forgotten about being polite to the guy earlier, but those eyebrows. Gross! It should be a crime to have such thick eyebrows. Not to mention that hair.

"You are an angel!"

_Seriousl?_ Thought Sakura. _After I just insulted you?_

Lee must have seen the rejected facial expression Sakura was making, because he said in a sullen tone "You don't have to be that mean..."

_Well, sorry! _Thought Sakura. _I don't recall telling you to pay me a compliment while winking at me in such a weird way!_

But a small part nestled in the back of her mind told her that that was a rather hurtful thing to think. She did agree for the most part, but on the other hand, thick eyebrows and those eyelashes...yeah.

"Challenging me knowing the Uchiha name..."

Sakura jerked up, having been too deep in her own thoughts. Sasuke was speaking? He sounded conceited and as much as Sakura believed he could defeat this green fool Sakura still felt as if they should continue on. "Frankly, you're a fool."

_You tell him! _Sakura thought with disdain. She had quickly changed her mind about wanting to leave without fighting this guy. Although, she wasn't exactly sure why.

"You're about to learn what this name means, thick brows."

"Please..."

Sakura had expected the boy named Lee to turn tail and run off. Instead,he seemed just as keen to fight the Uchiha as before. His eyes certainly were more focused.

"Wait."

Sakura and Sasuke both slightly turned their head to stare at their third team member from the corner of their eyes. They had completely forgotten about Naruto.

"I'll take care of Thick Brows." Naruto's face was set in determination. "Just give me five minutes."

Lee didn't even move his gaze from his destined opponent. "Who I wish to fight is not you...it's Uchiha."

"Damn it!" Despite the now pissed-off orange clad blonde charging at him the boy in green stood in the same stance. The only difference was that his focus had moved to Naruto. "I'm sick of hearing about Sasuke!"

Even when Naruto got a few metres closer, Lee still stood in that same stance. Then with a precise movement of his hand, Lee grabbed or poked, Sakura couldn't see which, the hand Naruto was going to punch him with and...

Well, he must have done something to cause Naruto to pitch forward and balance on his hands. The blonde of Team Seven wasn't through yet, though. Focusing on his opponent from the corner of his right eye and now balanced on his hands, Naruto spun around to aim a low sweep at Lee. He was pissed to see that such a move did not deter Lee as the boy's expression remained the same.

It was all a blur to Sakura from then on. Just a lot of spinning, mostly from Thick Brows and there were times she thought Naruto had gotten a hit. If he did then they clearly weren't doing anything to net him a win.

"Leaf Gale!"

Sakura gasped as Naruto fell down heavily on his back. What in the world...?

Wanting to end this fight and get back to the main event he had been waiting for, Lee grabbed Naruto before the boy could recover, spun around and threw Sasuke and Sakura's loud-mouthed team member against the wall.

As Naruto lay dazed Sakura thought that match took less then five minutes. Way less.

"I'll say this. You guys cannot defeat me. Because right now I am the strongest Leaf Genin."

At first Sasuke had been disinterested about this guy's request to fight him, but upon remembering Lee having stopped his kick with his bare hands he had a change of feeling. However he had done it Sasuke could not pass up this kind of challenge. The little example with Naruto just made Sasuke more resolved.

"Sounds fun, I'll do it."

It was then that Sakura noticed the clock.

"Sasuke, don't! We only have thirty minutes to get to the meeting."

"I'll be done in five minutes."

_How does he move so quickly? I barely got the last word out._

Sakura blinked. She could see Sasuke sprinting towards the area Lee was standing, but the boy in question had vanished. Had Sasuke charged the wrong direction? No, that would be a fool's move. Then...

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

From above! Sasuke ducked the spinning kick aimed at his head, but that left him open for the second kick. He had no time to dodge it and was forced to block it. His heart raced when Lee placed two fingers in front of his eyes in some sort of seal and before he could react Sasuke was hit with a sudden feeling of pain under his chin, knocking him backwards.

Sakura cried out to him as Sasuke fell heavily to one side. _He had blocked that attack. What was going on?_

Sasuke rolled onto his hands and knees before slowly getting back up to his feet. His opponent looked ready for another round. That was fine. It gave Sasuke the chance to practice a new technique of his. One he had shown only a few times before.

Sakura recognised those red eyes that suddenly flashed up to replace her teammate's usual black. _Both eyes... Sasuke is incredible. He can now read Thick-Brow's moves._

As Sasuke sprinted towards Lee for another attempt Sakura began to grow excited. _The Uchiha Clan was great! No way can Sasuke lose to this guy._

Her expression turned to confusion when the unexpected happen. Why was Sasuke limply falling backwards? She couldn't get her brain to comprehend why Sasuke was the one in trouble instead of his opponnent.

Where did Thick-Brows go? No, wait...he's now under Sasuke. Why?

"Shadow of the Dancing Leaf!"

At that moment Naruto was coming out of his unconscious state. He was now suffering from a rather nasty headache. One of which disappeared when he saw his male teammate in deep trouble. He could donothing but call out Sasuke's name.

Sasuke looked shocked for some reason. They could see Lee's mouth move as he spoke close to the Uchiha's ear, but Sakura and Naruto were too far away to hear what he was saying.

Now one of the bandanges on Lee's hand and arm was starting to unravel. It was getting longer. What was that guy planning?

"Lee!"

A girl's voice. Sakura vaguely recognised that voice. She had heard it not too long ago. Looking up, Sakura saw the brown-haired girl whose hair style consisted of two buns halfway down the staircase. She had her hands on her hips and her face wore a scrowl.

"What are you doing? Master Guy and Neji are waiting for us! We have less then half-an-hour to get to where we're supposed to be."

"Ah," Lee released Sasuke, landing on his feet. As he walked towards the girl the Uchiha, now having no support, began to fall.

Crying out his name, Sakura run forward. She barely managed to skid under Sasuke before he could hit the ground.

"Are you alright, Sasuke?" _He's shaken... He didn't even protect himself from the fall._

"Didn't Master Guy tell you that technique was forbidden?" At the girl's words Lee hung his head.

"Sorry, Tenten." Lee mummered, his head still down. "I did not mean to make you, Neji and Master Guy wait. I was just-"

"Geez. Never mind, Lee." The girl, Tenten, shook her head. "Master Guy asked me to collect you."

Still confused and a little dazed from being slammed into a wall Naruto wondered out loud, "What's going on?"

The girl turned towards him. "I'm Tenten. One of Lee's teammates. Excuse my abruptness, but Lee and I really should be going."

The was an unexpected cloud of smoke. "Geez! You guys are the epitome of adolescence!"

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto's reaction were rather amusing to say the least.

"Ewwwwwwww! He's got even thicker eyebrows!"

"Those are incredible eyebrows..." Naruto commented. "I've never seen that before..."

"Hey!" Lee yelled, startling the three Seven members. "Stop insulting Master Guy!"

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled back. "All these freaks keep appearing! How the hell are we supposed to react?"

Tenten giggled as Lee shook his fist at Naruto.

"Wait..." Naruto seemed to have noticed something. "Is that guy standing on a turtle?"

Grinning, Tenten replied. "He's actually a tortoise. Master Guy's personal summon Ningame."

Sakura stared at the girl. The feeling of recognition had occured again. Sakura didn't know how, but she knew this girl. Not in the sense they had prehaps had a little chat a few years back and Sakura had just forgotten. It was more in the sense of actually being familar with this girl named Tenten.

It wasn't just Tenten, but Lee and the other male that asked for Sasuke's name. Her sense of familiarity might have been understandable if she actually remembered interacting with them one point in time. Sakura prided herself in her good memory.

She associated Tenten with weapons. Lots of weapons. Which was odd as the girl in question didn't even look as if she was capable of weilding a sword. Still, when she looked at this girl she imagined Tenten throwing a bunch of sharp objects in speedy trajectory.

There was also Lee. Somehow the whole asking her out and then challenging Sasuke had a sense of deja vu. That was quite an accurate discription. Deja vu. The feeling of having already experienced the present situation.

Sakura had to find out if they had actually met at one point. Turning to Tenten she inquired, "I'm sorry. It seems rather an odd question of me to ask, but have we maybe met a while ago?"

Sakura kind of expected Tenten to think about the question, but the girl shook her head. "Nah. I'm sure I'd remember a pink-haired girl."

Sakura's shoulders slumped, a little sullen. Of course. Her pink hair. She and her mother were the only one in the village with hair of this shade. It wasn't as noticeable a trait as her big forehead, but it got some negative comments.

Naruto looked at his female teammate, confusion evident on his face. "What did you ask that, Sakura?"

The pink-haired kunoichi shrugged. "They just looked a little familar, that's all. I thought maybe we met as little kids or something."

"Oh,"

"You fool!"

Team Seven and Tenten spun around just in time to see the man, Master Guy deliver a hard-hitting punch to Lee's face. Naruto's, Sakura's and Sasuke's reaction was as expected, but Tenten just looked as if this wasn't new.

"You are... You are..." Now this man, Guy seemed to be coping with intense feeling.

Sakura was pretty sure both males were leaking tears as they stared at one another.

"Master... I... I..."

"That's enough, Lee. You don't need to say it."

_What the hell? _Sakura's reaction was understandable as the two males hugged in a tight embrace. _What the hell just happened?_

"Happens all the time," Tenten told them. "You get used to it after a while."

"I doubt I'd ever get used to that." Sakura said.

"You know..." Naruto started as he pointed to the odd duo. "that's some good stuff."

"No way!" Sakura yelled, pointing a finger at the blond. "Too dangerous! Way too dangerous!"

Beside her, Sasuke said nothing. He just looked annoyed. The three of them watched silently as Master Guy told his student that his punishment for breaking the rules would take place after the Chunin Exam. When he was done the man looked over towards them. His expression face got the three of them a little worried.

"Hey you guys, how's Master Kakashi doing?"

"You know Kakashi?" Sasuke inquired?

"Know him...?" The man chuckled, placing a hand on his chin and looking thoughtful. He said nothing for a short time and then, prehaps as an air of dramaticness said "People refer to us as 'Eternal Rivals".

But now instead of being on the other side of the room across from them, he was standing directly behind them, leaving three very uneasy members of Team Kakashi. They hadn't even seen him move.

Winking and pointing a thumb at himself Guy stated without hesitation "I'm stronger then Kakashi."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. _This guy was fast, his speed above Kakashi. Is he human?_

"See?" Lee boasted. "Master Guy is incredible!"

Sasuke cursed mentally. _Above Kakashi...? Damn it. It's true. _The boy had never seen such strength.

"You guys should head over to the classroom." Guy told them. He nodded at Tenten. "I trust you to make sure they don'tget destracted."

He chuckled as Tenten nodded firmly.

As Lee rewrapped the banadages on his arms and hand Naruto noticed scratches and bruises on the green-clad ninja's hands. There was even a noticeable scar with stitches.

When Guy left Lee told them, "Sasuke, I'll say one more thing. The truth is, I came here to test my abilities. I lied before. Most likely the strongest Leaf Genin is on my team. I've entered this to deaf him... and you're also one of my targets."

_Strongest Leaf Genin. Neji Hyuga. _Sakura's mind jolted. How did she even know that? She had only seen the other boy in Lee and Tenten's team. Yet, somehow, she didn't doubt Lee was talking about him.

"Be prepared during the exam!"

With that he was gone.

Tenten hung back. She was silent for a bit, then...

"Well, good luck."

"Hey, thanks!" Naruto said. "But you better watch out, because I'm planning to come out on top!"

Tenten grinned. "I don't doubt it. In fact, I'm looking forward to your progress." With that she was gone.

Sakura moved to try and gently comfort his dark-haired teammate, but seeing as he was clenching his fist she felt is best to keep her distance.

Hands behind his head, Naruto scoffed. "The Uchiha clan isn't worth much these days."

Sakura was about to blast him, but something stopped her. Prehaps it was the sudden feel of anxiety or it could have been the feel of danger coming from Sasuke.

"Gu...shut up..."

She hadn't noticied it before, but Sasuke's expression had gotten rather dark.

"Next time I'll beat him..."

"Sure...you just got your arse kick."

_Shut up, Naruto. Can't you sense how irate Sasuke sounds? He's keeping control, but even I can tell he's angry. I have to ease the situation._

"Guys," Sakura started, trying to sound cheerful.

"You saw his hand too..." Sakura stopped talking, staring at her thoughtful blond teammate. "that Thick-Brow must have trained relly hard...everyday. More than-"

He was interruped by a sudden sharp pain to the side of his head. He knew the exact cause.

"Ow! Sakura! What was that for?"

"Can't you see Sasuke's expression? He's clearly not-"

Sasuke made some kind of noise that got the attention of both Naruto and Sakura. "This thing is getting fun, this Chunin Exam..."

Naruto and Sakura greed. Naruto a little more cheerfully.

"Read to go? Naruto, Sakura!"

As she cheered along with Naruto Sakura wondered where Sasuke's sudden change of attitude come from. Was he simply just saving face? Whatever it was she wasn't going to complain.

X X X X

This chapter was rather close to canon, for the most part. Sorry about that. I assure you it will veer off in its own direction, only at occasional times being like canon. For the moment Sakura needs to settle and realise she can change a few things. Namely herself. If she's willing to do so, of course.

Yes, Sakura did die in the start of the chapter. Unlike canon where Kakashi saved her. Sakura will get little feelings of deja vu until she realises what's going on. As the mysterious female voice told her, she's been given a second chance. What she does with it is entirely up to her.

I'm rather fond of Tenten. That said, I'll be using her a lot in future. I'm very new in using any of the Naruto characters. There is a reason why she was the one to stop Lee from fighting Sasuke.

Lastly, something you ought to know. Things in the future have changed in comparison to canon. Most obviously is Sakura's death. You'll find out these changes later.


End file.
